GE 101 – General Surveying 2
Topic 8: Map Projections
Lecturer:
Arturo G. Cauba Jr.
Department of Geodetic Engineering
College of Engineering and Geosciences
Caraga State University
Presentation Outline
• Shape and Size of the Earth
• Globe and Flat Maps
• Introduction to Map Projections
• Cylindrical, Conical, and Azimuthal Projections
• Projection Properties
Expected Outcomes
At the end of this lecture, the students would be able to:
• Discuss the different models to describe the shape and size of the
earth;
• Explain the concept of map projections;
• Identify the different types of projections; and
• Describe the significance of the different types of projections.
Introduction
▪ What do you think is the true size and shape of the earth?
▪ Do you believe the earth is really flat?
Introduction
What if the Earth were...
A Perfect Sphere
Spherical Earth
▪ Pythagoras (6th century B.C.)- “Humans must live on a body of the
perfect shape - a perfect sphere”.
▪ Aristotle (4th century B.C.)
• “Sailing ships always disappear from view hull first, mast last, rather than
becoming ever smaller dots on the horizon of a flat earth.”
• “Circular shadow cast upon the sun or moon during all eclipses.”
Sun not directly overhead
7 º 12’
or
1/50th
of a circle
Alexandria
Eratosthenes
He also knewhad thatobserved
Alexandria that onSyene
and the
Syene Theofaccepted valuesolstice,
along the
day the miles
were 500 summer apart theequator
middayis
24,902
sun shonemiles, but,
to the if youofmeasure
bottom a well inthethe
earth through
Ancient Egyptianthecity
poles the value
of Swenet is
(known
24,860
in Greekmiles
as Syene).
To these observations,
HeEratosthenes
was within 1% of today’sthat
concluded accepted
the
value
Hecircumference
knew that at the of the
same earth
time,was
the50sun
x 500
was miles,conclusions
not directly
Eratosthenes' oroverhead
25000 miles.
at Alexandria;
were highly
Eratosthenes
instead,
regardeditatcast
vertical
the atime,
equal size
of the Earth’s
shadow
to 1/50th
and with the
his estimate
of a circlefor(7°
was accepted
12').
hundreds
Egypt aboutof
240years
BC afterwards.
Spherical Earth
▪ Modern Radius and Circumference Measurements
Sphere equal in surface area to an oblate ellipsoid (spheroid)
Introduction
What if the Earth were...
An Oblate Spheroid
Introduction
Sir Isaac
Newton’s
Idea...
Law of Gravity tells us the Earth must be oblate due to
its rotation.
Introduction
Oblate Spheroid
▪ Isaac Newton proposed that a consequence of his theory of gravity would be
a slight bulging of the earth at the equator due to the greater centrifugal
force generated by the earth’s rotation.
▪ This equatorial bulging would produce a slight flattening at the poles,
predicted by Newton to be about 1/300th of the equatorial radius.
▪ Rotating the ellipse about the polar axis would outline the three-dimensional
figure of the earth called an Oblate Ellipsoid (or sometimes oblate
spheroid).
▪ The amount of polar flattening (oblateness) is given by the ratio f=(a-b)/a
where a is the equatorial radius and b is the polar radius.
Values for 11 different ellipsoids used as the
basis for mapping in various parts of the world
Ellipsoid and Year Semi-major axis (meters) Flattening (1/f)
Airy 1830 6,377,563 299.33
Everest 1830 6,377,276.3 300.80
Bessel 1841 6,377,397.2 299.15
Clarke 1866 6,378,206.4 294.98
Clarke 1880 6,378,249.2 293.47
International 1924 6,378,388 297
Krasovsky 1940 6,378,245 298.3
International Astronomical Union 1968 6,378,160 298.25
WGS 72 (1972) 6,378,135 298.26
GRS 80 (1980) 6,378,137 298.26
WGS 84 (1984) 6,378,137 298.25722
Different Ellipsoids Used as Best Fit Surfaces
for Different Places
Local Datum used in the Philippines
Philippine Reference System of 1992
(PRS 92)
Clarke 1866 Ellipsoid
Datum Origin:
13°33’41” N,
121°52’03” E
World Geodetic System of
1984 (WGS 84) is the best
current global ellipsoid
6378137.0 m semi-major axis
6356752.3142 m semi-minor axis
Flattening: 1/298.257223
Introduction
What if the Earth were...
A Geoid
Geoidal Earth
▪ Meaning earthlike, deviates ever so slightly from the ellipsoid in an
irregular manner.
▪ Geoid is the three-dimensional shape that would be approximated by
mean sea level in the oceans and the surface of a series of
hypothetical sea-level canals crisscrossing the continents.
▪ Geoid is a sea level equipotential surface- the surface on which gravity
is everywhere equal to its strength at mean sea level.
▪ Due primarily to variations in rock density and topographic relief, the
geiod surface deviates from the ellipsoid by up to 300 ft (100 m) in
certain locations.
Vertical Datums
▪ Gravity: Local Attraction
Unfortunately, the density of the earth’s crust is not uniformly the same. Heavy
rock, such as an iron ore deposit, will have a stronger attraction than lighter
materials. Therefore, the geoid (or any equipotential surface) will not be a simple
mathematical surface.
Vertical Datums
▪ What is the GEOID?
• The surface of the earth's gravity field, which is approximately the same as
mean sea level. It is perpendicular to the direction of gravity pull.
• Modeled from gravity data.
Vertical Datums
▪ Ellipsoid vs. Geoid
High Density
ellipsoid Low Density
geoid
Earth’s surface
Cartographic Use of the Sphere, Ellipsoid and Geoid
▪ The authalic sphere is the reference surface for small-scale maps of
countries, continents, and larger areas because slight differences between
using a sphere and an ellipsoid are negligible when mapping large areas in a
general manner on page-size maps.
▪ Large-scale maps of small areas such as topographic maps and nautical
charts, the differences between locations on the spherical and ellipsoidal
approximations can be significant, and we need to take the earth’s
oblateness into account.
▪ The geoid is the reference surface for ground surveyed horizontal and
vertical positions. Horizontal positions are adjusted to the ellipsoid surface.
Elevations are determined relative to the mean sea level geoid.
Globe
▪ Globes are accurate but expensive
and less handy compared to flat
maps.
▪ A person looking at a globe sees a
perspective view (i.e. the view
from a single point).
▪ A person looking at a map sees the
orthographic view (i.e. the view is
directly overhead for all points).
Globe: Disadvantages
▪ Expensive and difficult to make
▪ Cumbersome and awkward to
store/transport
▪ Large globe needed to show a
small area in great detail
▪ Globe is an undevelopable
surface: it cannot be flattened
onto a sheet of paper without
distortion of shape, area,
distance, and direction.
Flat Maps
▪ Overcome many of the
shortcomings for globes.
▪ Various projections have been
devised to project globe onto flat
surface.
▪ The surface of the Earth tears
when you peel and flatten it. Peel
a globe and you will get globe
gores.
Flat Maps
▪ All projections distort, each
projection distorts differently.
Remember, maps are models,
generalized representations or
reality.
▪ The larger the land surface
represented the more curvature of
the Earth encompassed, and the
greater the necessity for projections
to construct flat map.
Map Projections
▪ Map Projection - a systematic
rendering of locations from the
curved Earth surface onto a flat
map
▪ Distortions are unavoidable
• Some areas will be compressed,
others will be stretched
Map Projections
Map Projections
▪ Projections can be conceptually created by projecting from one
geometric shape (a sphere) onto another (a cone, cylinder, or plane)
• Cylindrical: projects a sphere onto a cylinder
• Conic: projects a sphere onto a cone
• Planar: projects a sphere onto a plane.
Map Projections
▪ Most map projections are based on a developable surface
• Cones (conic)
• Cylinders (cylindrical)
• Planes (azimuthal)
▪ Some projections are not based on developable surfaces
• Use a direct mathematical projection
• Pseudocylindrical, Mollweide, Goode homolosine are examples
Types of Projections
▪ Conic (Albers Equal Area, Lambert Conformal Conic) - good for East-
West land areas
▪ Cylindrical (Transverse Mercator) - good for North-South land areas
▪ Azimuthal (Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area) - good for global views
Types of Projections
Cylindrical Projections
▪ Good for displaying the world
Cylindrical Projections (Transverse Mercator)
Normal
Transverse
Oblique
Conic Projections
▪ Good for displaying mid-latitude area such as U.S.
Conic Projections (Albers Equal-Area,
Lambert Conformal Conic)
Conic Projections (Albers Equal-Area,
Lambert Conformal Conic)
• Conic (Tangent)
• Conic (Secant)
Planar Projections
▪ Good for displaying hemisphere with one focus
Azimuthal Projections
Azimuthal Projections
Projection Properties
▪ Conformality/Form
• Shape is preserved locally on conformal maps.
▪ Distance
• A map is equidistant when it portrays distances from the center of the projection to
any other place on the map.
▪ Direction
• A map preserves direction when azimuths (angles from a point on a line to another
point) are portrayed correctly in all directions.
▪ Area
• When a map portrays areas over the entire map so that all mapped areas have the
same proportional relationship to the areas on the Earth that they represent, the map
is an equal-area map.
Projection Properties
▪ Area — Some projections distort areas (e.g., Mercator projection)
Projection Properties
▪ Form — Some projections distort the “form” of features (e.g.,
Azimuthal Equidistant)
Lambert Conformal Conic
Projection Properties
Projection Properties
▪ Distance — Most projections distort distances (e.g., Equirectangular
projection)
Projection Properties
▪ Azimuthal Equidistant Projection
Projection Properties
▪ Important Note:
The properties of area, distance,
and form are mutually exclusive. If
you have a map projection that
preserves one, it will distort the
other two.
Projection Properties
Directions — Sometimes a straight line isn’t the shortest path!
We call these curved shortest-distance paths great
circle routes. On the other hand, a path like the
straight line, where you keep yourself pointed in the
exact same compass direction the whole time, is
called a rhumb line or a loxodrome.
Projections Preserve Some Earth Properties
▪ Area - correct earth surface area (Albers Equal Area) important for
mass balances
▪ Shape - local angles are shown correctly (Lambert Conformal Conic)
▪ Direction - all directions are shown correctly relative to the center
(Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area)
▪ Distance - preserved along particular lines
▪ Some projections preserve two properties.
Choosing a Projection
✓Is there any specific property that you need to preserve?
✓How big of an area are you mapping?
✓Does the area of your map tend to run North-South or East-West?
✓What will your readers think about it?
References
▪ La Putt, J. P. (n.d.). Higher Surveying (2nd ed.). Baguio City,
Philippines: Philippine Graphic Arts, Inc.
▪ Anderson, J. M., & Mikhail, E. M. (1998). Surveying Theory and
Practice (7th ed.). USA: McGraw-Hill Inc.
▪ Snyder, J. P., Map Projections—A Working Manual.
▪ Map Projections – GE 173 Lecture 3c. UP Department of Geodetic
Engineering.
Questions?
Department of Geodetic Engineering
College of Engineering and Geosciences
Caraga State University, Ampayon, Butuan City